Back to where we started
by ash4869
Summary: Ladybug had finally defeated Hawkmoth despite losing her teammates. Broken and alone she takes her life only to find she's fourteen again. Now knowing everything that will happen, Marinette won't let her friends die this time around, especially Adrien.
1. Prologue

Ladybug had finally defeated hawkmoth despite losing her teammates. Broken and alone she takes her life only to find she's 14 again. Now knowing everything that will occur Marinette won't let her friends die this time around, especially Adrien.

Prologue

It was dark, dreary, and snowing. A bit too fitting for Marinette. It had been ten years since she defeated Hawkmoth and put away her miraculous. She had lost too much to that damned fool. A little over half a million Parisians had perished in the aftermath of the fight. The weight of it all drove Marinette near insane. In the hopes that she could live a normal life, she returned to her late parents' bakery.

Soft snow trickled inwards from the shattered windows, a result of vandalism. This part of the city would've been considered abandoned were it not for the litter of homeless individuals trying to survive from the fight ten years back. Most Parisians had fled from the city to the surrounding cities but the few who were unlucky were stuck.

Marinette stared hard at the old bakery. It looked like it was just yesterday she was in here baking with her father. The oven was long gone, any confectioners that may have survived had rotted away before anyone could scavenge it, but... something lingered. She couldn't quite place it but it felt like the smell of the bakery was still here.

At this point, Marinette decided to head upstairs before she ended up hallucinating. She creaked slowly up the stairs into her old living room, it was, of course, empty, but few of her belongings remained. A broken picture frame here and there littered the floor. After the death of her parents, Marinette couldn't bare to return to her home, it held... too much. After ten years of wasting away, whether at pubs or the occasional nightclub, she decided she didn't want to live this way anymore.

She trudged up to her room in the hope of finding a few more belongings.  
Kicking down the ladder she fought to open her hatch. Finally pushing up her door Marinette stumbled in. She felt at a loss for words, she couldn't believe how pink her room was. God was she such a child. It had been nearly 14 years since she lived in this room. She was only 16 when she had left to fight hawkmoth, hoping to not include her parents. Of course, nothing in life goes well for her, putting a distance between her parents just made it easier for them to die. To this day

Marinette still blames herself for not protecting her parents.  
Stumbling over some boxes Marinette was surprised to see most of her room to be intact, although there was a lot of dust... and spiders...

She scoured the room for anything that she could keep before stopping her eyes at the posters on the wall.  
Adrien.

He was the first to die... he was chat noir... he was her everything... and he was... gone. _Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone... whoops, better not linger too much on that. Can't go crazy now._

Realising that there wasn't much Marinette wanted to take she left her room. Trekking slowly out the shop she took in the sight of the front. There was nothing tying her down to this place anymore. It was just a broken, abandoned shop.

Marinette hopped on her bike and sped off to the tower.

* * *

Parking her bike, not really caring where she put it, she climbed the stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower. She didn't really mind the hike up the stairs, she'd been through worse. Finally, at the peak of the tower, she perched herself at the edge. After going through the shop she realised she had no one left. No friends, no family. She was truly alone.

She wondered what cruel being put her on this world. Looking back, this is where she first saved Paris, standing on the middle of the tower she let out the wave of purified akumas and gave out her promise, to defeat hawkmoth and protect Paris. Though she defeated him, she couldn't keep up her second part of her promise.  
With that final thought in her mind, she jumped.

Marinette felt strangely relieved, happy almost, she thought her descend down would be faster but surprisingly it was slow. She closed her eyes and waited for silence to envelop her.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A light at the end of the tunnel, that's how many would describe death. While it wasn't a tunnel that awoke her it most certainly was bright. She looked at her surroundings trying to focus her eyes to the light. Realising it was actually the sun that produced the light she adjusted to her surrounding. Was this what heaven was supposed to look like. Strange.

While in the process of trying to figure out where she was, she found there was an object in her hands, a parachute doted with black and red spots. This felt... like de ja vu, like she'd been here before, wasn't this a lucky charm? What... what was going on. Before she could probe the parachute she felt a hand on her shoulder, whizzing around she grabbed hard and glared at whoever dared to go near her-

_Chat Noir...! No. It. Can't... be..._

"Yo-you're... you... wha... Chat Noir, how are",

"My lady, are you ok? You look a bit dazed",

Dropping her hands, she felt the gears turning in her head. She was in Paris, she was still in Paris, at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, where she should've died. She should've been gone. Marinette felt a wave wash over her,

_This can't be right_.

"My lady? We need to do something about the other victims, and then there's also the mess",  
Looking down to think, she realised she needed to deal with the issue first before dealing with... whatever the fuck is going on. Throwing the lucky charm in the air, she called out her signature phrase.

"Miraculous Ladybug!",

a swarm of bright ladybugs burst out the parachute, zooming in all directions to do its work, repairing and fixing any leftover problem caused by

_Hawkmoth... he's also, still alive. He... HE_

"My lady look!",

"Wow, this is amazing, Ivan, look, they're repairing everything!",

"Mylene..."

_Can't get distracted, I've got to deal with these lot... judging by my surroundings and their reaction to the lucky charm, this must be before I gave them their miraculous, before they saw what my lucky charm can do... so that means, this is my first... my first day on the job...!  
_

A whisper escaped from Marinette,

"I'm fourteen again...",

"What was that my lady",

Marinette felt a twinge at her heart. He was here, still alive, still with her...  
But she can't deal with that yet, not now, not here, she needed to steady her heart, else she may get akumatised if not careful.

"Ch-Chat Noir, can I trust you deal with the two of them, I need to deal with something first, afterward meet me at a specific location, I'll text you where it is",

"Ooh you already want my number, didn't know our relationship was escalating so seriously"

"Silly kitty, we don't have numbers for our miraculous, I'll text you the adress"

"Heh, so you admit our relationship is getting serious",

Marinette felt something tug at her heart, looking at Chat Noir so young and happy made her feel... wrong...

"Chat Noir... I-I'm sorry... I couldn't do anything for you... I left you like this... for so. Long. I...",

"My lady, are you ok, I didn't mean to tease you that bad, I'm sor-",

"Why are you apologising?! It was my fault, I-"

Marinette felt a trickle fall down her cheek, she finally realised that she was crying... No. She couldn't be negative right now, she needed to sort her psyche out before attempting to speak with him,

"I'm sorry kitty, I need to get going, just meet me at the place I'm going to text you",  
Wanting to put some distance between the two, Marinette dashed off to hide somewhere before her emotions got the best of her.

Chat Noir felt a little dazed, more confused then he should be, did he do something wrong? Pushing the thought out his head he walked to Mylene and Ivan to help them out... if he could... clearly relationships were too complicated for him. With a sigh he got to work.

* * *

Marinette found a building to hide behind before transforming back, she felt the hot tears swell on her cheek, she needed to calm down or else hawkmoth may get to her. She sat down to meditate and focus on driving away the negative emotion.

"Marinette, are you ok!? What happened, was it too much to handl-",

"Shhh, I need to focus",

"Wha? I don't understand",

"Tikki please give me a moment, I need to focus.",

Marinette could feel the hard stare from Tikki, but she couldn't allow to focus on her, she needed to expel any negative emotion, she needed to be calm...

After meditating for about an hour, Marinette finally stood.

"Marinette! Are you ok!? You were sitting there for a long time! What happened back there?!",

"Tikki, are you well rested",

"Y-yeah, but more importantly what happened back ther-",

"Tikki spots on",

"Wait Marinette!",

Not waiting a moment longer Marinette transformed, she hadn't done this in a long time so it was a bit nostalgic going through the motions again. Once she was done she texted Chat Noir the location to meet up. As she leapt across buildings, Marinette couldn't help but want to take in every sight, every smell, every feeling.

This was Paris before the fight before Hawkmoth started destroying the city. Marinette felt something bubble within her, a fighting spirit that she thought long died out with her soul. She wouldn't let Hawkmoth hurt them, not again!

* * *

Chat Noir stood a long while waiting for the supposed text from Ladybug. She said she would do it later but he didn't know how much later, it was better to be safe rather than sorry, he sat waiting on the building for nearly 30 minutes, he had to transform back before heading back to Mylene and Ivan, God it was so hard trying to get Ivan to speak out but he finally did it, after sitting silent for about 20 or so minutes.

Hearing a noise coming from his baton, he realised that he received a text... on his stick. He'd thought it'd be on something normal like a phone but it was easier to have a phone on his baton... probably. Chuckling he pulled up the text that showed the location and dashed off, he didn't know where he was heading but he had a lot of trust for his Lady.

* * *

Standing in front of Master Fu's door is something she didn't think she'd do again in this lifetime, but here she was. She needed to head in to speak to him, but... it felt too much, the Master Fu in her time went missing after she handed her miraculous back, he said he was going to search for the rest of the miraculous since they went missing when her teammates died.

She didn't know if he'd survive long enough to find them, and she may never know but right now he was here and she needed to get his help. Sighing, just as she was about to open the door she felt a tap on her shoulder, spinning around she turned to face Chat Noir.

"Hello my lady, is this the location you mentioned in that text".

_Steel yourself Marinette, we need to deal with the crisis at hand, don't let your mask slip._

"Yeah. Right here, Chat Noir, there are going to be things that may confuse you, please don't worry too much ok?",

"Heheh, don't worry my lady, I won't cause too much trouble",

Feeling a bit more confident with Chat Noir by her side she knocked on the door...

"Master Fu...",

"Please come in",

Entering the room she found herself quite nervous, nauseous almost, she hadn't seen Master Fu in quite some time.

"So what can I do for you two superheroes",

Feeling a lump at her throat, she forced herself to swallow it down and talk.

"Master Fu... I need the bee, fox, and turtle miraculous",

Watching the man closely she found he didn't react as much as she thought.

"Now this is a bit of a surprise... Ladybug, how did you find where I live.",

"My Kwami.",

"So you're saying that your Kwami decided after your first Akuma, you would come here, she even told you my identity and told you about the existence of the other miraculous.",

Marinette felt herself pale a little, she forgot she was not meant to meet with Master fu until a few months later and even then, she wasn't supposed to know his identity until much later.

"My lady, I know I said I wouldn't cause any trouble but honestly I'm a bit confused",

"And you have reason to... Master fu, I wasn't lying when I said my kwami told me about where you lived however how I know who you are and the existence of the miraculous is something... a bit difficult to explain",

"Hmmm try me",

"...Master Fu... I promise you, you don't want to know why.",

"Ladybug, you've learned this information somehow within the last 12 hours, it hasn't been that long since you've gotten your kwami, Ladybug, I would like you to explain",

_Explain!? How would I begin to-_

"My lady, it's most likely a complicated story, so I won't force you to say it, but honestly I would like to understand what's going on here",

_**"I don't understand my lady! Why-"**  
_  
"Alright I'll explain but we need to transform back",

"Wait what? Didn't you say we were supposed to keep our identity a secret",

"That secret led to a lot of misunderstandings, I'd rather not take my chances again",

"Again I don't underst-",

"Spots off!"

"Wait what are you-!",

Letting her transformation fall, she felt herself become Marinette once again, this time she could see a shocked expression coming from both Master Fu and Chat Noir. In her time trying to keep the secret, it led to Chat Noir death in the long term, she was not going to allow such a thing to happen again.

"M-Marinette?! You-you're Ladybug?!",

_Hmm, He's more surprised then I thought.  
_

Feeling another couple eyes staring at her she realised Tikki was the source.

"Marinette! You didn't let me finish speaki- Master!?",

"My, I'm quite surprised, I thought you'd want to keep your identity a secret",

"It's not as helpful as you'd think... Chat Noir, it's your turn.",

"Wait! Stop ignoring me!",

"Don't Tikki I'll explain in a second",

"Hmph, you better!",

"Well Kitty",

Feeling everyone's eyes on Chat Noir, he felt a blush spread to his cheeks

"Huh, I'm kind of embarrassed seeing as everyone's staring at me",

"There's not a lot of people here kitty,"

"Well, there _are_ three pairs of eyes-",

"Four actually",

Looking to the source of the voice Chat Noir realised there was another kwami.

"Oh come one, now there's another",

"Chaton, we don't have all day",

"Fine...",

Grumbling, Chat Noir let his Transformation off,

"There. Happy.",

"Nice work Adrien",

"Wait you don't seem surprised",

Rolling her eyes, Marinette got everyone to sit around her.

"Well then, I'll just get straight to the point, this is not my time. I was living 16 years into the future, I lived bleak life where all that I loved died, hawkmoth was defeated but Paris took a bad hit that they didn't recover from.",

...

...

"Well. You got what you wanted".

"Marinette, when I asked you to explain yourself, I was hoping for a bit more detail.",

"I apologise Master Fu but I'm not in the right state of mind to be talking about this, for now, I need to get my team ready, I have to defeat Hawkmoth as soon as I can.",

"Uh, my la- Marinette. You said... everyone you loved... di- passed away.",

**Sigh**

"Yes, I did say that Adrien, please, I'll tell you all I can... later",

"Ok Marinette, I trust you",

_**"I trust you my lady"**_

"Master Fu. The miracle box if you would",

"Marinette...",

"I'm sure at this point you don't want to trust me... but I beg of you, I need to make sure my team is ready, they weren't ready before and... that lead to their demise... I need your help Master Fu...

"Ok... but I will need to know who you will be giving them to.",

"The fox miraculous will be going to Alya, the turtle to Nino and the Bee... will be going to Chloe...",

A chorus emanated from the room

**"Chloe?!"  
**

"I know you're all surprised but trust me when I say this, she is someone we need",

"Marinette I've known Chloe since I was young, I don't think she's a good choice",

"You're right, as she is now, she'll be no good, you know before she got her miraculous she cause 70% of all Akuma attacks.",

"You know this isn't helping ease our worries my lady",

"Yeah I know, but back in my time, Chloe was one of the last of us to survive, I grew close with her and I know what she's really like.",

"Marinette... are you confident in your decision",

"Yes Master Fu.",

Staring hard into Marinette he saw a resolve that he didn't see the first time he saw Marinette. Trotting over to the record player, he pressed a few buttons to bring out the Miracle box. Adrien was absolutely delighted watching the box pop out of the player, he felt a giddiness that he hadn't felt since he was a kid. Pushing the Miracle box towards Marinette, Master Fu opened it up.

A series of small draws opened in configuration before finally unveiling the top box of the miracle box. Inside it held two other Miraculous, grabbing both the last remaining miraculous, Marinette noticed something on the box. The peacock Miraculous... it was still in Hawkmoths Hand wasn't it... if she was to succeed this time around, she would have to get her hands on the Miraculous Spellbook and the peacock Miraculous and get them away from Hawkmoths possession.

"Master Fu, if I could also get the miraculous on your wrist.",

"Marinette. May I ask how likely would you trust the new holders of the Miraculous...",

"With my life and so much more...",

Chuckling he handed the last miraculous, leaving the top of the box barren. Finally, She could train her team properly.

"My l- Marinette, will you tell them our identities as well",

"Actually, for the time being, we'll keep our identity a secret to them, I need to train them to be good with their powers individually so if the time ever calls for it they can handle a situation on their own. Letting them know who I am isn't going to help them become stronger. They'll see Marinette before they see Ladybug",

"So the reason for my identity being a secret...",

"Is nearly the same as mine, for you, it's more for Chloe rather than Alya and Nino.",

"Why for Chloe?",

"Adrien... you're pretty clueless huh",

Chuckling Marinette put the miraculous in their respective box.

"Right let's get to work",

"Marinette you still haven't answered my question",

"Silly kitty, Chloe loves you, if she knew you were Adrien as Chat Noir she'd cling to you as she usually did when she saw you",

"Hmm, that makes a bit more sense but I don't think she likes me, I think she's close to me because I'm one of the few willing to be her friends",

"No trust me, she likes you. Ok let's get these Miraculous to their new owners",

"My l- Marinette, I still think you're off on your theory-",

Watching the kids leave, Master Fu put away the miracle box, saving the rest for when Marinette will need them. Now alone, realising Wayzz was gone, he needed to find something to do in his newly found quiet time...

...

This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

* * *

With their transformations back on Ladybug and Chat Noir both dashed to their first target, Alya.  
Resting at home in her room, Alya wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. Feeling her eyes droop she put away her Laptop for a while, she was trying to create something she dubbed the Ladyblog. Despite the fact it was only 5 pm Alya felt so. Tired. The whole "akuma" event tried her out, when she came home she bombarded by her two little sisters, going on and on, asking if she was alright. When she finally tore herself away from them she felt exhaustion overtake her.

Finally done posting what little footage she was able to take during the whole fight she lay down on her bed in hopes of getting a little shut-eye. She was just about to enter sleep when she heard a knock at her window. She shot up when she saw who was actually knocking. Ladybug! She wasn't sure why the superhero was here but she didn't want her to hang on her window edge. Scuttling to the window she flung it open,

"Yo-you're Ladybug!",

"Thank you for letting me in Alya",

"You know my name?",

This warranted a slight giggle from Ladybug. From behind her, another person entered, while it was still light out, Alya had a bit of a hard time recognising who was behind Ladybug,

"Come on in kitty",

"Thanks ma-my lady...bug",

Ladybug shot a slight glare at the aforementioned kitty. Alya watched as the dark figure because more noticeable, were it not for the exhaustion from the fight from before she would've jumped in the air realising the person was Chat Noir. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir were in her room, Alya could feel her excitement rising!

"Sorry about the trouble Alya",

"No! T-there's no trouble a-at all!",

"Alya, I'm sure you're confused as to why we're both here",

"Uh yeah, a little...",

"I'm sure you saw the fight from earlier",

"Heheh yeah, I kinda got caught in the aftermath of the fight",

_**"Marinette I'm caught, you have to run, you have to get away, only you can purify the Akuma"**  
_  
"... I'm sorry..",

"Heheh no worries, wasn't your fault",

_**"This is all because of you! If you didn-"**  
_  
"Alya... I'm going to ask you something",

"Er sure? Ask away",

"When you see someone in danger... what's your immediate reaction",

"Obviously help them",

"What if your life is in danger if you attempt to help said person",

"I'd help them of course! Regardless of the danger, Ladybug I'm sure you'd do the same thing",

"... mmm",

"Ladybug?",

"Alya I'm going to be straight with you... I want you to be the holder of the fox miraculous",

"Whu? What are you on about",

"Alya, do you know how me and Chat Noir fight",

"Radioactive Ladybug?",

"Haha not quite, we use our miraculous to transform. This is also where we get our powers to fight",

"I'm still a bit confused",

Bringing out the prepared box Marinette handed it to Alya

"Alya Cèsaire I would like you to fight alongside me and Chat Noir... do you accept",

"You want me?! To help you guys...!",

"Yes, I was tasked with finding eligible people to help me and kitty here to fight Hawkmoth and protect the people of Paris",

"Ladybug... I don't know what to say...",

"..."

"Except yes!",

"Thank you, Alya. I hope to see you soon. I send you a text around the same time tomorrow, find a quiet place to hide and transform. Your kwami will tell you more of the details",

"Kwami?",

"Yes, me and Chaton don't have too long now, we need to assemble the other miraculous users, please be ready, as mentioned your kwami will tell you everything you need to know",

"You still didn't answer my questio-",

"Oh and one more thing, no one can know your true identity. Do you understand.",

"Y-yes?",

"Good",

With the formal introduction out the way Ladybug and Chat Noir dashed out into Paris.

"A superhero huh...",

* * *

Leaving Alya to her thoughts Ladybug directed Chat Noir to a hidden spot on the rooftops.

"Adrien, it's going to be late, head back home before your father gets angry",

"Oh.. right, I've got to head back... man he's going to be so pissed, I'm sure he's not even going to let me go to school anymore",

"Don't worry too much chaton, you'll get through",

"Thanks, Marinette...",

_**"Thank you for the past 5 years... it's been a pleasure..."**  
_  
"N-no problem Adrien...",

"Hey, I was just wondering... if you were still angry about the bubble gum incident",

"Haha, no don't worry. It's been a long time for me since the gum incident.",

"Ok then! See ya tomorrow... I hope",

With a soft smile, Chat Noir dashed over the rooftops to head home. Maybe his father would be really nice today and let him off the hook.

_Finally, I thought he'd never leave_

Marinette didn't want to leave Adrien's side but at the same time she didn't want him near her, every time he looked at her, eyes full of trust, Marinette felt nausea build up inside her. She watched him die in her arms, slowly and most definitely painfully. She didn't want this to happen to him again... not when she's gotten a second chance to make everything right again. Running off to her next member she threw out her yo-yo.

* * *

Feeling the wind in his hair, Adrien cherished the feeling of freedom before he had to transform back. The past couple of days had been so hectic. His father had finally allowed him to go to a normal public school, despite previous protests, but now he may not get the chance to continue his schooling thanks to his "sudden" disappearance. He just couldn't stand by while others had gotten hurt.

Despite his worries, Adrien had to shove them down. He needed to be the perfect son if he still wanted the chance to go to school again. Sighing Adrien hopped down to the side of a building to transform, careful not to let anyone see.

Putting on his "perfect son" mask Adrien scurried off to his house, hoping to convince his father that he was still obedient enough to allow him to go to school. Adrien slowly crept up to the gate only to find no one was there?! He tried pushing open the gate but found was still locked, so he had no choice but to ring the bell.

...

Surprised to find there being no one to answer he opted to run to another building to transform and hope to climb back in his window.

"Adrien I really hope you're not going to transform",

"But Plagg I need to get home, for some reason no one's responding",

"But I'm so exhausted, I really need some delicious, delectable, pungent camembert...",

"Sorry Plagg I don't have any right now, but I really need to get inside can you hold on for a bit longer?",

"Alright but give me a five-minute rest ok, I can't keep up with all this stuff",

"..."

"Hey, Plagg...",

"Yeah...",

"Marinette... she's Ladybug huh",

"Did it ruin your perception of your 'lady' Adrien",

"No! I just didn't know I knew her in school... but now I might not even get to do that",

"Adrien...",

"It's just when I first saw Ladybug, she was just... amazing! She was brilliant, smart and courageous, to think she was also sweet Marinette.",

"Not so sweet now huh",

"What...?",

"Marinette... do you really think she's from the future",

"Honestly I couldn't really believe it when I first heard about it, I mean she said it so bluntly!",

"Heheh",

"But watching her talk, watching her move, watching her run... it should've been obvious something was hurting her. She must've suffered so much in that future...",

"mm..."

"Plagg I just want to hope that she won't have to go through something like that again.",

"Mm...",

"It's weird... watching her talk about the past, there's so much hurt in her eyes... I can see she's trying to hide it but I don't want to pry... I don't know if she can even trust me.",

"Mm...",

"Plagg you're being too quiet",

"Sorry Adrien, honestly this is one of the few times I'm lost for words. Even Tikki looked confused",

"Mmmm..."

"You know I think I'm pretty rested no-",

"Adrien!",

Spinning round to the source of the voice, Adrien found both the gorilla and Nathalie running towards him,

"Adrien! I'm glad you are ok, we must return home immediately but before that, tell me why you had run off before!",

_Shoot_

"Oh er, it was, coz... I was scared?",

"Scared?!",

"Yeah! The big rock... thing looked like it was coming towards me... so I ran, I didn't want to die?",

Sighing Nathalie had no choice but to believe his excuse,

"You're father will want to have a word with you when we get home",

"... I know... I'm sorry Nathalie...",

"... No, I should apologise... we couldn't keep you safe",

Adrien felt a twinge in his heart, he must've caused so much trouble for them, his father must've been angrier at them then he could towards Adrien. Letting the gorilla go park the car Nathalie directed Adrien to his father's study.

As usual, his father stood, staring at his mother's portrait. Gabriel Agreste didn't take well to his wife disappearance last year, he secluded himself to his "work" and almost never appeared in the public eye. Adrien didn't know the reason behind his mother disappearing, but he did know that it made Adrien and his fathers already distant relationship a bit more distant with each passing day. Letting Nathalie announce their presence, Adrien braced himself for a berating.

"Adrien... I would like to hear your reason for running away from your bodyguard",

"... father there was a huge monster coming our way... I was terrified, I didn't want to get hurt, especially since I finally got the chance to go to scho",

"We could've protected you. There was no need to take matters into your own hands",

"Father...",

"... I'll make my decision about what I should do to you tommorow, Adrien you need to finish your Chinese lessons",

"... yes, father...",

Resigning himself to his room, Adrien left His father in the study alone. He sat down at his desk and waited for his Chinese tutor to arrive.

* * *

Marinette had just given the Turtle Miraculous to Nino, he surprisingly understood the situation well and seemed to trust Ladybug so it all went off without any worries. Now all that was left was Chloe... She couldn't remember if Chloe liked Ladybug yet but she needed her help. The Bee miraculous wasn't the most powerful but was extremely helpful in immobilizing targets that just wouldn't stay put, which was more than you'd think. Swinging over to the Hotel, Ladybug landed on Chloe's Balcony.

**_"Marinette, I never hated you... I just wanted to be your frien-"  
_**  
Stomping the stupid flashback out of her head, she crept inside the room. She'd been getting a lot of flashbacks recently, but dwelling on them can cause negativity. Not good when you don't want to be akumatised.

"Er, Chloe, are you in here?",

Finding the room empty she sat down on one of the sofa chairs in her room, it was, of course, extremely big, her room was incredibly expansive, filled nearly to the brim with expensive clothes, the latest device and even a few toys laying on the shelves. The hotel was one of the first few buildings to get destroyed, so seeing the place intact and all the inhabitants safe made her heart feel a bit calmer.

It was a tough day when she was in her time, she was on a 2-hour train ride to arrive at the edge of the city, before purchasing a motorcycle to zoom to the centre of the city. The ride took her another hour. Adding the physical and mental fatigue from the day made Marinette feel really sleepy. She used to stay awake for days at a time back when she was... going through that time. Shrugging off her thoughts Marinette lay on the sofa, she felt her eyes get heavier as the seconds ticked by. Marinettes body was much younger compared to her older counterpart, because of this she felt fatigued much faster than she would as an adult.

_Well, a little rest won't hurt too much... I'll just rest my eyes for a slight bit..._

**"_Marinette... I can't lose you too, please don't g-"_**

_Actually, scratch that, sleeping now will just push me into something stupid._

Standing up, Marinette tried shrugging the fatigue away, it was not a good idea to linger too long on her thought. Anything that could lead to negative thoughts will lead to being akumatised. She could not let that happen. Not again. Pacing back and forth, Marinette hoped to drive away from anything that would make her tired.

_Damn it Chloe, where are yo-_

"L-Ladybug? That new superhero! In my room!",

_FINALLY _

"Hi, Chloe",

"You know my name as well?!",

"Yeah... Chloe",

"Yeah?",

"Hmm this is a bit hard to explain so I'm just going to be blunt with you, I want you to be a part of my team",

"Wait... do you mean...?",

"I mean I want you to be part of my team and help defend Paris",

"so you're saying I can be a superhero too?!",

"Yeah, but before you can even receive a miraculous I need you to understand something",

"Alright! I can't wait to shove this into everyone's face! They'll understand why **I** am superior!",

"That's the thing, Chloe, you can't let anyone know of your identity",

"Then what's the point! Ugh, Ladybug, you can be so dumb sometimes, Hmph!",

**_"Heheh, Marinette, have I ever told you, you can be so dumb sometimes... Just run... I'm not far behin-",_**

"Chloe, I have some conditions if you want to join my team, that is, if you'd be willing to change",

"What are you on about! I'm perfect, what's there to even change!",

_Uuuggggghhhhhh, was she always this annoying!_

"Chloe, in order for you to receive the power to fight alongside us, you must change yourself... to be honest, you can be... horrible to other people",

"ugh this is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!",

"Alright Chloe, I can understand when to back away, I won't force you to make this decision",

"W-wait, you're just going to leave!? After making me think I could actually help you?",

"Chloe, do you truly want to help the people of Paris or just play around acting like a superhero. When you see someone in trouble is your first instinct to run and help them or just walk away to let someone else deal with them",

"..."

"Chloe, I came to you because honestly, I see the potential of you becoming a great superhero, someone who may not always be kind, but is determined to help in any way she can",

"..."

"The way you treat people, even those you call friend, can be... so sad sometimes. When I see you with Sabrina, I can tell you care about her, but you show it in such a strange manner",

"Huh! I don't care about an annoying girl like her! She's just some-",

"She's someone dear to you... I know it, she's one of the few people who befriended you not for your money or status but simply because she just wanted to be near you",

"I... you're wrong! I'm likable! Everyone likes me... I.. I...",

"Chloe you hide behind this wall, high up on a throne, curled up, head buried... refusing to see your surroundings. When even I, a stranger can tell-",

"but that's just not true! I'm perfect as I am! I... I don't need your stupid pity! I'm not alone! I'm happy! I'm better than everyone in this stupid city! I... I'm... I live... this way, because I'm just... better... even though I'm better than everyone... how come they always get to be happier...",

Marinette was stunned, she didn't think Chloe was this self-conscious at this age, she's even crying. This was perfect for Marinette, this was she can change Chloe before she Akumatises anyone... well except Ivan, to think she was the one who akumatised the first victim. Wow.

"Chloe-",

"It's not like I'm trying to be mean, they're all so annoying!",

_Wow._

"Chloe-",

"I just wanted to be included! I n-never wanted to be outcasted! I just",

"Chloe!",

"Y-yeah",

"Chloe... I'm going to prove to you that people want you to be included",

"Wha?",

"Tomorrow at school, go up to... er... how about Marinette... yeah! Go up to her and just say, 'you can take back that seat, I don't really want it', see how she treats you",

"What but I don't-",

"I'll give you the Miraculous if you can be as nice as possible tomorrow",

"wait what's a miraculous again!",

"I'll see you tomorrow Chloe! That's a promise!",

With that Ladybug swung out the room and ran off.

"But I'm... so confused... how ridiculous...",

* * *

Running across the rooftops, satisfied with her days work Marinette ran to head back... head back... home? Could she even handle going into that place again... last time she was there, she was scavenging for old belongings, this time, she was going to have to go through that front door, explain why, after the "dangerous" situation, she came back home at around 7. Right now. Marinettes parents were still alive... how was she supposed to act normal around them... what if she starts crying randomly! Agggghhh why was this so hard!

_Ok, I'll just walk in, explain I was at Alya's calming her down after the incident, say I forgot to call home... ok, put on your tough face Marinette! Push everything down... just stay calm. You're ok. You're ok. You're ok._

After pepping herself up she jumped down from a building, transformed back, and continued to pep herself. Slowly opening the door she attempted to enter quietly... if it weren't for that stupid bell! Alerting her parents, she heard them dash down.

"Marinette is that you!",

Hearing her mother call, Marinette could feel the emotion she tried pushing down, bubble up. She didn't know if she could even handle these two right now.

"Marinette!",

"We were so worried! Are you ok, are you injured, why were you so late! We tried calling you but you didn't answer! We even called Alyas house but you weren't there!",

_Shoot that's one excuse out the window..._

"S-sorry mum... I was trying to calm a friend down before I knew it-it was already late.",

Trying her best not to let her emotions bubble out, she begged her parents wouldn't find out she was lying

"Oh Marinette, I wish you would've told us beforehand",

"Sorry. Battery ran out. I'm going to my room. Night!",

Running to her room, she could feel something leaking out of her eyes, she could hear her mother calling for her but Marinette needed to sort out her emotions, if she didn't do it soon, she was at risk. Finally getting to her room she ran to the balcony, she sat on the floor with the wind on her face, letting it cool her down, cool her emotions down. She still had a lot to do. She was not going to allow herself to fail. There was too much at stake.

"Marinette...",

"Tikki, I know what you're going to say but now is not the time. I need to focus. Go downstairs and listen in my parents, see if they suspect me",

"But Marinette-",

"Please, Tikki... I beg of you",

"Ok, but after you must explain to me everything, not that half-done explanation from before... ok?",

"Ok...",

"Thank you, Marinette",

Tikki sped off downstairs on her mission leaving Marinette and her thoughts to herself. In order to make sure she wouldn't get those flashbacks, she had to empty her mind and feel only the wind. Calming herself, Marinette spent the next 40 minutes stabilising her emotions. She won't let Hawkmoth win.

_Tomorrow's going to be a lot of work huh_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sleeping in a bed is something one would consider normal, for Marinette however, it was a luxury she rarely got. A year after the fight Marinette found she had spent every penny she had owned, since she could no longer pay rent on her dingy apartment, she was evicted and left effectively homeless. It wasn't all too bad, because of her years fighting as Ladybug, she was quite agile and could pull her weight, so she often did any labour jobs that came her way.

Since sleep was rare for her, she found it hard to get up from her bed.

"Marinette! Marinette!",

Hearing a sweet voice, Marinette looked up to see where it was coming from,

"Marinette, don't we have to go to school?",

_School? When was the last time I even stepped inside a class_

"Marinette! Come on, it's seven o'clock already!",

_Seven?! That's way too early to be awake, didn't school used to start at twelve or something._

Pushing her self up, she reluctantly dragged her tired sore body... _wait sore? Oh right, I supposedly defeated the Akuma yesterday... though I can barely remember anything about it._

Looking for some clothes, she searched her drawers. She couldn't find anything she liked. To think this was her sense of style back then... picking out a random outfit, Marinette went downstairs to take a shower, she couldn't remember the last time she had a warm shower but now wasn't the time to try it out. A cold shower was perfect for waking her up, better than coffee could ever try. Drying herself off, she threw on her outfit and put her pyjamas away. She debated running off to school as is but because of what Tikki told her yesterday, that didn't seem to be an option.

"_Marinette it seems your parents are concerned, they're thinking of letting you skip school tomorrow",_

"_hmm, that's not very helpful... looks like I'm going to have to confront them after all",_

"_Marinette... you haven't explained anything yet you know",_

"_Tikki... you know the future turned out really bad... honestly I didn't turn out any better",_

"_What happened?",_

"_I was inexperienced... I was stupid... everyone gave themselves to help me... just because I was the only one with the power to purify the Akuma. Tikki, I want to tell you everything I saw but at the same time, if I did, you'd definitely look at me differently",_

"_Marinette I would Nev-",_

"_That's funny. That's exactly what the previous Tikki said... you know she did exactly the opposite, tell me Tikki, if the you in the future, who had been with me through everything still couldn't see me as good, do you think you could",_

"_I... Marinette...",_

"_Tikki, it's getting late. Let's get some rest, it's going to be a long day tomorrow",_

"_ok...",_

Prepping herself up, Marinette slowly entered the living room... empty, she could've sworn she heard them here before. Ah, that's right! Her dad was preparing the bakery and her mother was helping. Still, that meant, either way, Marinette would have to encounter her parents. Sighing she dragged her feet down the stairs, stealing her reserves.

"H-hey mum, are you down here",

"Oh, Marinette! Are you going to head to school already",

"No, I just...",

_Steel yourself Marinette_

"...wanted to eat one of dads delicious pastries while they were still hot!",

"Aww, Marinette, of course you can have one, here try one of my new croissants! They have a mix of custard and jam filling!",

Taking the offered croissant, she took a bite. A waft of emotion ran through Marinette, memories flooded her mind,

"_Marinette don't leave!" _

"_We'll be fine! Ladybug can protect us!",_

"_No she can't! Not when-_

NO. She had to cut it off, if she got affected now... but she couldn't stop it, the tears that fell from her face felt hot, the food in her mouth. It was so damn delicious. It smelled amazing, it tasted perfect. Her fathers baking... when was the last time she had it.

"Marinette! Are you ok? Does it taste that bad?",

"No... itsh so delishus... I jush bith my tongg",

"oh Marinette, you shouldn't eat it so fast then",

Wiping away her tears, she swallowed the last of the croissant and her emotion,

"Sorry dad, I just loved the taste of it so much, this ones definitely a winner!",

"that's good-",

"Woah! Look at the time! I need to get to school, I promised Alya I'd help her with something this morning! And I got to do it fast! Also, I'm taking this small box of pastries! Yup! Can't be late! Ok bye!",

"Ok bye-",

Without waiting for her parent's response she burst out the store and raced for school. She couldn't stand being there any longer. It felt like an overload that could get her in trouble. Shoving her feelings as low as they can go, she slowed her pace and walked to school.

_I wonder how it looks, the school was completely demolished when I last saw it, I can barely remember it..._

* * *

Being driven everywhere was something Adrien was used to, even though he had perfectly good and working legs, he was still forced to take the car everywhere. There was at least a slight upside to a car, when it rained you didn't have to suffer through the cold and damp weather... it still didn't excuse the fact that cars were just plain stupid, at least in Adrien's opinion.

As the car slowly parked near the school, Nathalie directed Adrien's attention to the screen on the car seat. As it connected Adrien prepped himself for the worse, he was most likely never going to see this school again...

At last the device was finally connected, Adrien could see the disapproving stare, with the way things were going, his Hope's were not high.

"Adrien, look at the school over there, you will never attend school without being accompanied by your bodyguard",

"Father...?!",

"Adrien, when you went missing yesterday, it made me realise, I can't leave you alone anymore, anywhere you go, you will bring your bodyguard",

"Father, I'm grateful that you're allowing me to go to school again but, having my bodyguard at all times... isn't that a bit excessive?",

"Nothing is excessive when you're trying to protect your child",

"Ok father...",

Turning off the screen Adrien slumped out the car and went to meet up with Nino.

Nino was scrolling through his phone when he saw Adrien,

"Dude, you alright?",

"Yeah, never better...",

"My dude, did you get into trouble or something",

"Sorta, remember the Akuma yesterday, I ran off to hide but my dad was angry I didn't stay with my bodyguard",

"Akuma? How do you know what the monsters are called"

_Whoops_

"I-I didn't! I just heard someone say it before... ya know!",

"Oh yeah, that makes sense... I Guess",

Wanting to drop the conversation as soon as possible, Adrien started speed walking into the school. He paused when he noticed Marinette trotting to the school, she seemed lost in thought.

"Hey Nino, I'll see you inside, I'm just going to catch up with Marinette",

"You sure dude, she might still be angry at you",

"for what?",

"Uh, dude! The gum!?",

"Huh, oh yeah! I just... wanted to apologise to her, I'll see you later",

"Dude.",

"Nino, just trust me on this",

"Fine. Don't come crying to me when you get rejected",

Letting Nino go before him, Adrien started sprinting to Marinette, she still seemed distracted.

"My la- Marinette!",

Stopping in her steps, Marinette looked to where the source of the voice was coming from,

"Adrien. Do your best not to slip when we're in school",

"Sorry... did you give the... er (miraculous) to Nino and Chloe",

"I gave one to Nino but I've decided to give Chloe a bit more time, I need her to dwell on something for a while",

"Dwell on something?",

"You don't need to worry too much Chato- uh Adrien",

"Heheh, now who's slipping",

Marinette felt something tug at her heart

_No good, I can't keep reacting like this, focus and calm down... you still have Hawkmoth to deal with_

"Adrien you know we still need to get to class right",

"Heheh yeah I know, but I wouldn't mind staying with you longer",

_When did this child get so smooth?!_

"uh ok, but being late... is bad... let's flow- I mean go!",

_Aggghhhh I'm bumbling! What am I 12?!_

"Oh yeah Marinette, I heard we were going to meet up at around 5?",

"Y-yeah... I wanted to get everyone introduced to each other since Hawkmoth won't be sending out any Akuma within the first week.",

"Ohhh, wait how do you kno- right future... Hey Marinette... do you know who... Hawkmoth... is?",

"...Yeah I do... Adrien... the thing is... Hawkmoth is... someone you kn-",

"Marinette!",

_Who is it this time?!_

Spinning round to the voice, Marinette felt a bit of regret bubble up, it was Alya, she was meant to meet up with her earlier today but Marinette had gotten distracted,

"Marinette. Glad you're having such a nice time without me.",

"Ah wait Alya! Adrien here just wanted to...",

"To apologise for yesterday and explain what really happened!",

"Yeah!",

"Er, ok?",

"Let's just let go of this matter entirely! Marinette I'll see you later!",

Dashing before Marinette could speak, Adrien rushed to class leaving both girls in silence.

"..."

"So Adrien. He seems to enjoy your company",

"Alya, let's just head to class",

"Oh come on, you're saying you're not into him?",

"Alya, people don't fall in love like that",

"Ah ha! I knew it! You love him",

"_**You love him, don't you... please just ru-",**_

"Alya, can we seriously drop this",

"Woah Marinette, it was just a joke... I didn't think you'd get that angry",

"I... look Alya, I just want to go to class... I'm just, really tired",

"Alright...",

Silence hung in the air as they walked to their class. Marinette only stopped to find Chloe standing by the door. When Marinette had entered the class, Chloe followed suit. Looking quite conflicted she tapped on Marinettes shoulder.

"Hey, you! I-I mean Marinette. You can have the stupid seat back, I don't want it!",

Stomping to her newly allocated seat, she could feel a number of eyes staring into her head. Feeling a soft smile arise on her face, Marinette walked over to Chloe.

"Hey, Chloe...",

"What!",

"I just want to say thanks, that was really kind of you. I just wanted to know if you wanted these",

"Huh? Want what exactly?",

"My dad made a few extra pastries today, I wanted to give it to a friend and I thought you were the right person to give it to",

"F-Friend?",

Marinette could notice a slight blush on her face, it seems things never change.

"W-Well I guess I could accept these. I wouldn't take these if your dad wasn't a Baker you know",

"Haha, Chloe, that's really nice of you, it's great you think my dads good at baking",

"Wha... I... hmmmmmunuu",

Leaving Chloe stuttering, Marinette took her seat.

"Well there's a surprise, didn't think you'd be so nice",

"You know it's only because Chloe was being nice herself",

"Suuuurre, I bet you she has some ulterior motive",

"Heheh, I'm not too sure of that",

* * *

The rest of the lesson went off without any problems. Break was finally announced so students started moving into their bundles.

"Hey guys, let's invite Chloe and Sabrina to hang out",

"...huh?",

"I agree with Alya. Huh?",

"Ok ok, I know it's weird but I honestly want Chloe to join in",

"Marinette. Hon. Did you fall off your bed today, I know it's higher than most.",

"Alya...",

"You know, I think Marinette's right. I've known Chloe since I was a kid, she's not bad",

"Doesn't mean she's good either Dude",

Giving Adrien a look, Marinette opted to try and hide in the bathroom so she could contact Chloe.

"Hey guys, I'll be back in a sec, I just need to go to the toilet",

"Right! You do that! I'll go get Chloe",

"What no! Adrien, wait dude!",

Running to give herself a head start, she bolted to the bathroom, onlookers may have thought she needed it badly but in actuality, Marinette was planning on calling Chloe to have a little conversation. Shutting herself in the toilet Marinette called out for Tikki.

Finishing her transformation, Marinette texted Chloe's phone. Now all she had to do was wait.

* * *

Chloe sat with her conversation with Marinette on her mind. She felt slightly conflicted as she let the interaction replay itself over and over. Frowning she shook the thoughts out of her head, it was just a one-time interaction with that girl, things were just going to go back to being just her and Sabrina... just like they always did.

"Hey, Chloe... you alright",

"_**The way you treat people, even those you call friend, can be... so sad sometimes...",**_

"Sabrina do you hate me...",

"what?! I could never hate you, we're best friends!",

_Oh... so this is what she meant..._

"Hey Sabrina, this weekend, do you want to hang out",

"Don't we always hang out",

"I... I mean, hang out by doing something you like",

"Wait really?",

"Yeah, you said it yourself... we're b-best frien...",

"Hehehe, alright! But I won't force you to do anything you don't like",

"...",

"Chloe?",

"Thanks...",

Sabrina felt surprised! Chloe had never wanted to do anything she wanted, and saying thank you?! That was on the top of the list of words she thought she'd never say! Sabrina wondered what brought about the change of heart. Before she could ponder anymore she heard someone call for the two girls.

"Hey Chloe, Sabrina! Do you wanna hang out with us, we were going to compare work from the last lesson",

"Adrikens! Of course we'll go with you!",

**Buzz**

Feeling her phone vibrate, she opened up her message app, it was a text from Ladybug?!

"Adrien, I'll catch up with you in a second, for now, Sabrina, go hang out with him, I'll be back soon",

"What? Chloe?",

Ignoring Sabrina's call, she ran down to the ladies bathroom, when she had received Ladybugs message, it said to go down to the bathroom opposite the class and to knock on stall two. Complying with the message, Chloe did just that. When she knocked on the stall, she felt herself get pulled in.

"L-Ladybug?! You shouldn't be here should you?!",

"Sorry, Chloe but I couldn't find a way to get to you secretly",

"(You could've just popped in the class...)",

"Chloe you know I can't do that, and yes I heard you whispering",

"..."

"So I heard something nice today!",

"...what did you hear",

"Apparently you got a box of pastries",

"Yeah so! That's just normal...",

"Weird, I recall watching Marinette ask for the box to give to Adrien, I didn't think she'd actually give it to you instead",

"Wha...?",

"Heheh, surprised",

"Hmmnmmnumn...",

"Don't grumble",

"But I know you're gonna say...(I tol yu so)",

"Sorry, what was that?",

"Ugghhh I know you're gonna say I told you so!",

"Well I mean-",

"Can we just get straight to the point, shouldn't you be protecting Paris or something?!",

"Yeah, buuuut I can't do it alone you know",

"Huh?",

"Chloe Bourgeois, I would like you to be the holder of the bee Miraculous!",

"You know this would've been nicer if we weren't in a toilet",

"..."

"But... I accept!",

"that's great! So to get you started I should expl-",

"Ladybug...",

"Yeah?",

"Thanks... for giving me a chance... I don't want to be seen as someone who's just always... me you know",

"I know Chloe, honestly, when I first thought about who the holder of the bee miraculous should be, I imagined you.",

"hahaha, I'm actually surprised... I want to ask why is that",

"Because... I've seen you, the you that you haven't met yet",

"ugh, cheesy much",

"Hehehe, yeah I figured as much... Chloe, here's the Miraculous.",

"Ladybug... this is a box",

"Open it obviously!",

"Ok ok!",

Opening the box as asked, Chloe was nearly blinded with the sudden light, hearing a voice emanate from the box, she realised it was coming from a tiny bee-like creature.

"Hello my queen, my name is Pollen! I'm the Kwami for the bee miraculous!",

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Surprised?",

"Maybe a bit more than I'd hope Ladybug...",

* * *

Adrien wasn't always the best at communicating but he sure was competent enough to stall the group long enough for his lady to get her job done. When she looked at his way before disappearing, he was pretty giddy, Marinette had enough trust in him to help her out so he couldn't screw it up now. Just as he was about to reach his last conversation topic, he heard the door open, it was Chloe! But still no sound of Marinette.

"Hey Chloe, you were gone for so long, class is about to start in five minutes",

"Yeah, I know",

Noticing the new accessory on Chloe's head, Adrien tried his best to hide his knowing smile.

"Well I'm glad you're here, I was just wonderin-",

"You know I'm pretty confused.",

"A-Alya?",

"I can understand why Adrien wants you to be included, but you and Marinette were just fighting yesterday, now all of a sudden she wants to include you in everything she does",

"Hey! Alya, let's just calm down-",

"Nino I am calm, I'm just wondering, what did Chloe do to change her attitude so fast",

"How should I know?! Why don't you ask her yourself! What?! Are you going to say I'm controlling her mind now!"

"I'm just saying her attitude is a bit strange, this morning, she was in a grumpy mood but all of a sudden, the moment you give up your seat, not very kindly you see, she brightens up, gives you presents and now apparently wants to hang out with you!",

"...",

"I'm going to ask again, what did you do to Marinette.",

"...",

"Did you threaten her? Try to pay her out?! Or just promise an exchange of goods!",

"...I can see when I'm not wanted, Sabrina, if you'd like, let's go sit down in our seats",

"Uh, um yeah... I'm coming...",

...

...

...

"Alya! What was that?!",

"Adrien, you're pretty naive so I'm going to say this for your own good, Marinette and Chloe are like water and oil, they don't mix, something definitely happened that made her so... weird!",

"Alya, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take Chloe's side here, you should really ask Marinette herself why she's acting different",

"Ask me what?",

"Marinette?! Finally! What took you so lon-",

"Hey Alya, could I ask, what happened when I was gone",

"Nothing much...",

"Hey Alya, let's go to our desk to talk",

...

...

...

"Alya... you know I get it, it's weird that I've suddenly taken a liking to Chloe",

"It's not weird! It's suspicious!",

"As suspicious as that new piece of jewelry you have",

"Wha...?",

"Alya, Chloe... she's much nicer than we give her credit for... I'm just sad it took me so long",

"...what made you realise",

"it's what I saw yesterday after the monster thing... well I should really keep it a secret since it's not something for me to tell",

"Marinette...",

"Well, class is starting soon... so",

"Marinette, give me a second, I'll be right back",

"Yeah... I know",

Rushing before the bell rang, Alya brought herself to Chloe's side of the desk.

"You!? What do _you _want",

"I wanted to apologise.",

"...look I get it, you don't like me, but you shouldn't start faking just because you-",

"I'm not-...I'm not apologising because I felt like it, or because I want to be some kind of saint... I accused you of some pretty baseless stuff",

"...",

"I thought you might've tried to hurt Marinette but after hearing her explanation, I realised that I might have jumped to conclusions",

"Might?",

"...Anyway, if you wanted to hang out with us later, I wouldn't be against it...",

"Hmph, if I feel like it",

"...",

Watching Alya walk off, Chloe felt so incredibly dizzy.

_This is so ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Something that dumb... shouldn't make me that happy... ughhhhh._

* * *

With school done, Marinette could start planning on how to deal with Hawkmoth. The first thing she needed to do was to get the peacock miraculous away from him. Since it was damaged when she last saw it, it must still be in that state. Anyone who uses a damaged miraculous will get backlash from overuse, that's what led to Nathelies passing when she was 17. By the time Marinette had finally taken back the miraculous, the damage was already done. Paris was in disarray and it only added to Hawkmoths advantage.

Sighing, Marinette started to pack up her stuff. She was going to have to start training with Alya, Nino, and Chloe... this was going to be tough...

"(Hey Marinette)",

"(What's wrong Adrien)",

"(I might not be able to attend our little... rendezvous)",

"(Hmmm, and why's that?)",

"(My father was really angry yesterday, I don't know if I'll be able to sneak out)",

Well, this was troublesome. Marinette needed Chat Noir to help train the others as well. It was one thing training them to fight, it was another doing it all on your own.

"(Don't worry too much Chaton, if it comes to it, I'll be ok working with the... animals)",

Sending a wink Marinette headed out the class. Following along, Alya caught up with Marinette.

"So... I see you and Adrien seem to be on really good terms",

"Alya, we were just talking about the previous lesson",

"Yeeaah but was there any need to whisper",

"...",

"Ha! I knew it! Come on Marinette! He's not a bad looking guy",

"Alya, if I was given the chance to go out with him, I wouldn't take it",

"What? Why?",

"I don't really have a valid reason as to why, but I can say, I don't want to",

"Gosh Marinette, you're going to end up old and alone one day",

"_**Please... I want you to grow old and happy... I'll be fine... Please go Mar-"**_

"Alya, I'm going to head home first",

"That's weird... I thought we were going to hang out today, you asked me a couple of days ago if I wanted to go to that new ice cream place",

"Sorry Alya, I'm going to have to call a rain check on that... literally",

Stepping a few metres from the door, Marinette could see heavy rain pour down from the sky. Of course today was going to be a downpour...

"Why does it always have to rain when I least expect it! Sorry Marinette, I'm going to have to agree with you, I left my clothes outside!",

Leaving Marinette on her own, Alya ran out into the rain, trying to get home as fast as possible. Marinette once again felt a strange sense of de ja vu... standing here with no umbrella, she recalled the first time she was here alone... Adrien offered his umbrella... that was probably the first time she had realised he wasn't as bad as she thought he was...

"Marinette?",

"A-Adrien! I was jus-",

"Forgot your umbrella?",

"M-Maybe...",

"heheh, don't worry too much about my lady, here you can have mine",

"You do realise that means you're gonna get wet without this right?",

"I don't mind, I get driven home anyway...",

Marinette felt a warmth spread on her cheeks... he did the same thing back then as well

"...Thanks, Adrien",

Adrien brought himself close to her ear

"(You're welcome my lady)"

Without waiting for her response he walked to his car, where both Nathalie and the gorilla was waiting for him.

"Wow Marinette, I don't remember the last time you were this red!",

"I-It's not my fault Tikki! That damn cat! When did he get so smooth!?"

"Heheheh",

"Ugh",

Groaning, Marinette began walking to a random hiding spot where she could transform. She needed to prepare a new training ground since it was raining.

* * *

Sitting comfortably in the car, Adrien watched Marinette leave the building as the vehicle drove off. He leaned against the window. He often wished he could live in a family like hers. Adrien's father was, understandably, more strict than other families. His father was a renowned designer, he created works of art out of clothes, his mother, a talented actor, famous in the movies she appeared in, he himself was a Model, known all over Paris. It should've been obvious that he couldn't live so simply. Yet. Getting his miraculous, gave him a taste of what could've been. Going to school, being with friends, it made him forget that he wasn't allowed to be normal. He had only lived this new life for a few days, but now that he had a taste for it, he never wanted to let it go.

"Adrien, since you now go to a public school, your allocated one hour of free time has been changed from 2 pm to 5:30 pm. Please use it wisely",

"Really?!",

"Yes, but you must not forget, you still have piano practice after your tutor has left at 4:30, you must complete the work your teachers have given you",

_Wait... that means I can make it to training today! If I play my cards right, I can make use of the piano practice by leaving my phone playing a recording. I can get 2 hours of free time just like that!_

"Wait, is this daily?",

"Well there is an exception on Thursdays and Saturday where you have fencing practice, but all in all, yes, this is essentially daily",

"Thank you, Nathalie!",

Nathalie felt a smile creep up her face, she, of course, had to push it down. While she wasn't allowed to admit it, Nathalie cared greatly for Adrien, she had watched him grow up over the years after all. She often did her best to make Adriens schedule as easy on him as possible, planning out the best way to give him the most free time. Sadly due to her employers' tough demands for Adrien, she found it became more and more difficult as he piled on more work for Adrien to do. She understood that Mr. Agreste was doing his best for his son and was preparing him for the real world, but putting so much on the child's shoulders may eventually push him too far. So she took it upon herself to help Adrien in any way possible. It was all she could do for him anyway.

Arriving back home, Nathalie directed Adrien to his room to await his tutor. She still had a lot of work to do. Entering Mr. Agrestes study, she announced her presence.

"Mr. Agreste, I have done the research you have asked for. As for Adrien, it seems he has been settling in well, so far there have been no new incide-",

"Nathalie... How can I effectively obtain Ladybug and Chat Noirs' Miraculous if I cause harm to my own son...",

"Mr. Agreste...",

"I need my plan to work... I need to save my wife but... if I hurt Adrien in the process",

"You won't! I know you won't. In fact, we can use Adriens school to our advantage.",

"That is an interesting suggestion Nathalie. Tell me, how do you plan on doing this",

"Since the school has the daughter of the mayor studying there, if we put her in danger, we can coerce the mayor into putting high level security at the school to protect his daughter.",

"...Go on.",

"Since Chloe Bourgeois is close friends with Adrien, this protection will naturally extend to him, this way we won't have to spend any of our money and we won't bring suspicion to ourselves",

"Hmmm, this is actually a brilliant plan, and the best way to deal with it is to akumatise someone near Chloe, it shouldn't be that hard, that girl is a walking time bomb, the moment she opens her mouth she puts them at risk for my Akumas.",

"Thank you, Mr. Agreste",

Walking out the study, Nathalie felt much more useful, this way Adrien had an excuse to continue studying there, she only hoped that would be enough.

* * *

Marinette stood at the edge of the Notre dame, she was searching for an enclosed space for which she could help train her team but so far, she found nothing. When she turned 15, Marinette was able to purchase an old warehouse with Chloe's help, this allowed her to train her new miraculous users. They were, of course, her friends from her class. She had given each of her classmates a Zodiac Miraculous, they were kept in the lower compartments of the miracle box. She might have never even thought of giving out those miraculous if she hadn't met future Alix using the bunny miraculous.

_Wait, now that I've come back in time, will we still meet up with future Alix?_

Shaking her head, leapt across buildings in search of her elusive training ground

_I shouldn't worry too much, time is confusing as it is._

Giving up her search, Marinette opted to use the old warehouse at the edge of the city. She didn't want to occupy the space since it was often taken up by homeless individuals but she had no choice, she couldn't cancel training because of "rain check".

Sighing she sent out a mass text to the other miraculous users, hoping they'd transform a little earlier so they could make it to the location she'd given, before heading there herself.

* * *

Chloe stood alone in her bedroom. She wanted to try out her new powers so she could surprise Ladybug with her knowledge but Pollen advised against it,

"My queen, you need to understand, we can't use this power recklessly!",

"I'm not trying to be reckless! I just want to be useful... What if I mess up when we're training, Ladybug would lose all faith in me",

"She won't! My queen, she planned on giving you the miraculous before you even met her, I'm sure she understands that you won't be at full power, that's why she wanted to train you!",

"Ok... but can I at least transform, I know it's not even 5 yet but I want to at least be prepared to get Ladybugs text",

"Alright, just say Buzz on my queen!",

"Er... Buzz on!",

Chloe felt weird as the transformation overtook her, by the time she realised it, she was dressed in black and yellow stripes, makes sense, this was the _bee _miraculous. Feeling something buzz on her side, she realised it was the spinning top on her side... _spinning top? What a weird weapon..._

Opening it up, she found a text from Ladybug... on her supposed weapon... she pulled it up and found a location attached to the message, following the link, it showed the location of an old warehouse, this was at least 30 minutes away from her current location.

Chloe thanked whatever being watched over her that she transformed 40 minutes early. She got ready to get to the aforementioned location. She felt a bit nervous standing on the edge of the building but if Ladybug could do it, so could she!

Taking a leap of faith she cast out her spinning top, hoping it would stick somewhere, after feeling that the string was strong enough, Chloe jumped the building and pulled hard on the string, she found that her spinning top retracted just like Ladybugs yoyo. Feeling a bit more confident, she threw out her spinning top again and tried her best to "superhero" her way to the location posted. After a few jolting throws, Chloe finally got the hang of her Spinning top, soon she was jumping over building tops and swinging through Paris. She had never felt such an elevation in her life! It felt amazing! Was this what Ladybug felt when she first started. Well, it had been only two days since she first even heard of Ladybug, so it probably wasn't even that long ago.

As Chloe swung through buildings, she spotted another figure in the distance, it seemed to resemble a man... turtle? Was this another miraculous user? Not wanting to cause trouble so soon, she went on ahead.

* * *

Nino was a pretty chill guy, when he first got the miraculous from Ladybug, he didn't seem to be too affected. He'd read a lot of superhero comics so he kinda got the gist of the whole, protect Paris, save the citizens. When Ladybug had left, he didn't think he'd meet another being. He called himself Wayzz, a Kwami that accompanied the turtle miraculous and helped channel power to the miraculous user. Nino had indeed read a lot of comic books but he never expected a tiny little dude was going to help him save Paris. After getting to know the little dude, he realised this whole superhero thing was harder than he thought. When he was told by Ladybug, they were going to meet up the next day, he didn't think it'd be so hard to get there, especially since it was still slightly raining.

Doing his best to leap over the building, he spotted two other people on the roof, he couldn't really see too much through the rain but he could definitely spot them dressed in red and yellow. He wasn't the most athletic type, so he was glad the miraculous compensated for the fact, he didn't think that he'd still be this slow... although it should've made sense. Turtle. Turtle miraculous.

_I regret not working out more..._

* * *

Alya was glad her older sister was home, if not, she may have been forced to take care of her twin devils. Making up an excuse about seeing Marinette, Alya went to transform behind a building. Trixx was a weird little being, she called herself a Kwami, a being meant to help transform the miraculous user. Alya was pretty glad she had the internet since she was young, if she didn't have her backlog of superhero knowledge from the internet, she might've had a harder time figuring out this whole superhero thing.

While jumping over the buildings she could vaguely see two other people going in her direction and one more way up ahead of her, the two behind were most likely the other two miraculous users, but the one ahead was shrouded in darkness. She guessed it was Chat Noir but she wanted to make sure.

Putting in her all, she rushed to the dark figure

"Hey! Wait up!",

"huh?",

Chat Noir turned to the location of the voice

"Oh hey, Alya! Glad you could make it, we're nearly ther-",

"You know there are two others behind us right",

"They're probably the new Miraculous users Ma- My lady picked out",

"Yeah, I thought as much",

"Hey Alya, you might want to think up a superhero name since for the time being, we're not going to give out our identities.",

"Oh... then how about... Rena Rouge!",

"Hey, that's a good one! What's it based on",

"Heheh, my secret",

"Wow, already keeping secrets are we, Rena Rouge",

"You know it",

Sending a wink at Chat Noir, she attempted to overtake him. Sensing Rena Rouges competitiveness, he ran on ahead, giving no chance for Rena Rouge to CATchup.

_Heheheheh, CATchup. I'm going to use that next time I see Ladybug_

* * *

Ladybug stood at the centre of the warehouse, it had a nice amount of scaffolding already, including the beams that held up the structure, this was a good training ground. It was 30 minutes away from the centre of the city but it shouldn't be too bad once she gets the special power-ups that Master Fu made. Still, that meant it took 5 minutes to get to the centre... a lot of things can happen in 5 minutes. She should find a new hideout, a bit closer to the city. Marinette recalled there being an abandoned sewage passage a couple of hundred metres south of the Eiffel Tower. It was once used to hold rainwater during heavy rain but a mistake by one of the architects meant that it was full of holes, prone to bursting and was structurally weak.

Sighing she prepped up her mind. She needed this meeting to go well if she wanted to stand a chance against Hawkmoth.

_Hawkmoth... Damn him... right now, he's alive and well... he still thinks no one knows who he is... I need to take that into my advantage. In the early days, hawkmoth never held his broach on his person. If I'm going to get the Miraculous off him, I'm going to need to lure him out somehow._

Whilst in thought, she didn't notice Chat Noir sneak up behind her, when she felt something touch her back, she grabbed the source and threw him over her head

_Wait him? Oh no! Chat Noir!_

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry kitty, I didn't mean to-",

"Nope... was my fault... damn you throw good",

Dropping to her knees, she brought herself to him. Chat Noir... was with her, and yet she threw him over her shoulder... she wondered if it hurt... She held his face softly,

"Woah... er... My lady, are yo-",

"I'm fine... that's the problem, I'm always fine, but you get hurt... and it's always cause of me",

"Marinette, It's fine, I didn't get hurt you know. I'm ok",

"It's still hard, trying to convince myself you're here... right now you're here.",

"Well yeah, where else would I go",

"Kitty... do you know how you died in my time",

"We don't have to-"?

"It was because of me! You all... gave yourselves because... because of me",

Chat Noir watched her cry softly... so quiet, if he wasn't looking in her direction he wouldn't have realised. Chat Noir knew something bad happened in the future, something that affected Marinette, He knew he couldn't understand it as well as her but, he knew she went through... so much. Taking Ladybug in his arms, he found, she was really small, he often forgot that since she was often in leading situations but here she was, as small as a berry, curled up in his arms, weeping softly.

"My lady, please don't be too hard on yourself...",

"(I can't dwell on this)",

"Ladybug?",

"I can't dwell on this... they're all going to pop in soon. I need to calm down... God I feel like such a child...",

"...",

"Sorry kitty, I shouldn't have pushed that on you... give me a minute and I'll get myself back to normal...",

"Normal?! Ladybug, something happened! Something so bad it brings you to your knees, this isn't something that you should suffer with on your own",

"Chat Noir now's not the ti-",

"No, I know it's not, but I can't bear to see you so conflicted. I don't want to see you so sad, I want to h-",

"Help me?",

"...",

"Tell me Chaton, what is it you think you can even help me with?",

"...",

"You know what the worse part of this is, as much as I want to tell you, the moment I'll do, you'll see me as a monster",

"What? I could never-",

"How do you think I defeated Hawkmoth, I lost my entire team, 16 lives lost Chat Noir, how exactly do you think I stopped Hawkmoth on my own",

"I...",

"I killed him Chat Noir. I. Killed. Him. And you know what tops the cake!",

"My lad-",

"Hawkmoth is yo-",

"Hey Ladybug!",

Spinning around, Ladybug saw all three of her friends pop in.

"What a weird place? Is this place even sanitary?",

"Aww dude come on, what if she put a lot of effort into this place",

"No I'm gonna have to agree with Queen bee, I'm pretty suspicious of this place",

"Hey wait a sec dude... etts. Ladybug, are you alright..."

"Fine.",

"Er ok?",

"Let's just get to work.",

Wanting to get off her current conversation with Chat Noir, she directed the three to the scaffolding.

"Here you guys are going to rescue someone from the collapsing scaffolding before they get suffocated, you must do this with 30 seconds and you cannot use your powers",

"What why? This sounds stupid",

"It's to test how good you guys are under pressure.",

"Okayy but who are we going to rescue anyway",

"Me of course.",

"**what?!",**

"We can't use a real civilian and I can trust myself to get out if it gets completely buried"

Despite everyone's concern against this test, they proceeded onwards. 30 seconds was of course too quick to do anything, by the time the timer ran out, Marinette had to dig her way out the rubble. As per Marinettes expectation, they all panicked the moment she started getting buried, even Chat Noir who was standing by was nearly tempted to help.

"Ok, I've got my results, you guys should head back now",

"Wait what? Just like that? Dude!",

"Honestly I needed to test you guys to see what strengths I should be building on, tomorrow I hope to see you all at the same time, at the same place so we can begin our real training.",

Letting everyone leave before them, Marinette went to tidy everything up using her lucky charm, leaving Chat Noir and Ladybug Alone.

"Chat Noir, you should head back, I know you'll get into trouble if you stay out for so long.",

"Marinette...",

"Chat Noir... Head home.",

"Alright... I'll see you tomorrow then?";

"Mmm",

Marinette could feel her sadness bubble up again. She must've been so horrible when she shouted at him. After letting her lucky charm fix everything up. She sat, curled up, eyes dry and empty.

_How can I face him tomorrow..._


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"_**Marinette, you don't have a say in this matter",**_

"_**Alya! I'm not leaving him behind!",**_

"_**Marinette... he's gone...",**_

"_**I can't leave him...",**_

"_**Marinette... please, listen to me... he's gone..."**_

"_**Why...",**_

"_**Marinette...",**_

"_**Why... why was I the one to survive...",**_

* * *

"_**Marinette. You're the only one with the power to purify his Akuma...",**_

"_**No... I've already lost Adrien, I'm not losing you too",**_

"_**Heheh, you're not going to lose me silly. Don't worry about us, we'll hold them back, for now, get the people out of here",**_

"_**Alya, I'm going to come back for you...",**_

"_**I know... you always do.",**_

* * *

"_**Ladybug... we've just lost two more people",**_

"_**...",**_

"_**It was Juleka and Luka",**_

"_**...",**_

"_**Marinette! You can't keep running from this!",**_

"_**Alix... please, for now, leave me",**_

"_**Marinette...",**_

"_**Alix, you need to go somewhere safe, your miraculous is damaged",**_

"_**What are you planning on doing?!",**_

"_**Something I should've done a long time ago",**_

* * *

"_**Gabriel Agreste.",**_

"_**Ladybug.",**_

"_**You know you're stuck, your wife has no chance of being saved, your missing son hasn't turned u-",**_

"_**You think this will stop me! You've already lost Ladybug! Your superhero friends are no more! You. Have. Lost",**_

"_**Hehehehehe",**_

"_**...?",**_

"_**HehehehahhahahahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA",**_

"_**...!..."**_

"_**LOST. That's really funny Hawkmoth.",**_

"_**Heh, so you've finally lost it",**_

"_**Say Hawkmoth, would you like to know something special",**_

"_**..."**_

"_**Remember the first person you killed",**_

"_**...?",**_

"_**Ah, I see... allow me to refresh your memory",**_

***BASH***

"_**Whoops, now you're bleeding"**_

"_**Didn't... think a super... hero would... resort to violence...",**_

"_**Weird, you still don't remember? Oh well",**_

***BANG***

"_**your first victim",**_

***WHACK***

"_**Was Chat Noir",**_

***SMACK***

"_**He died when he was crushed by one of your Akuma",**_

***CRACK***

"_**Would you like to know who he was behind the mask",**_

"_**...S-Should... I e-even... c-ca **_***cough* **_**care... at thi...this... point...",**_

"_**You know I think you should. Considering the fact that. He was your son",**_

"_**NO! I H-HAD ALRE- **_***COUGH* **_**READY P-PROVED IT!",**_

"_**What a fool, did you already forget the fox miraculous could create illusions. How does it make you feel, I bet it makes you feel really happy doesn't it",**_

"_**DAMN YOU- IF I WASN'T SHACKLED, I WOULD'VE ENDED YOU- **_***COUGH* **_**ALREADY!",**_

"_**But you can't, you see, you lost, a long time ago, you lost when you decided to use the miraculous to do your dirty deeds. It should've made sense, what goes around comes around",**_

"_**Adrien... Adrien is stil-",**_

"_**Still alive? You know I was there, he died in my arms, you know what his final thoughts were?",**_

"_**Don't... I beg of you...",**_

"_**He said, 'I can't believe my father could cause all this, Ladybug? Was I a bad son?'",**_

"_**Stop it!",**_

"_**He begged for life, he begged to see you again, the one who caused his deat-",**_

"_**Stop it! No more!",**_

"_**He cried as he died! He cried for his mother, he cried for his father. You caused his death!",**_

"_**I didn't know! I never wanted th-",**_

"_**You didn't know... ahahaha! You killed him, who cares if you knew or not. You killed your son, you killed millions of innocent souls, for what? For a women who was dead before she could be revived?",**_

"_**... didn't want thi-",**_

"_**Did you have fun? Gabriel?",**_

"_**no. No. No. No. No. No.-",**_

"_**Didn't you love it?",**_

"_**No. No. NO. NO. NO. NO",**_

"_**I'm sure, you must be celebrating, everything went according to your plan!",**_

"_**NO. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!",**_

"_**You know Gabriel, I can give you peace",**_

"_**..."**_

"_**Let me end you",**_

"_**What makes you think I would even dare to agree to this",**_

"_**Well you're shackled to your old bed, all your Akumas were purified, you don't even have your miraculous anymore, what reason don't you have",**_

"_**Alright. Do it... please... nothing is worth it anymore...",**_

"_**Okay, but don't expect it to be quick and painless",**_

"_**...",**_

"_**Hehehehehe-",**_

***BANG* *BANG* *BANG***

"_**Hehehehehehehehahahahahahahahahahaha-",**_

***SMASH* *BANG***

"_**hahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"**_

***BOOM* *BANG* *CRASH***

"_**AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH... ha...",**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

"_**how stupid... you barely even lasted 5 seconds",**_

* * *

"_**Ladybug... That... body brought in... was it...?",**_

"_**That was Hawkmoth, we had a huge fight... there was no other way",**_

"_**Was that what the explosion was at the old Agreste Mansion",**_

"_**Mm, here's my report of the situation",**_

"_**I see, it must've been hard",**_

"_**Whatever...",**_

"_**Thank you for your service, Paris will never forget how you helped us",**_

"_**Mm.",**_

* * *

"_**Adrien... your fathers dead now... I'm sure you can guess, it was because of me... I wonder... do you see me as a monster. Everyone is gone. Just me. You all said I was the only one capable of defeating him... I've gone and done just that... but why won't you come back to me... I've done everything asked of me...**_

_**...**_

_**I never even told you, I love y-",**_

_**Marinette**_

_**Marinette **_

**Marinette **

Marinette

"Marinette! You need to get up!",

"T-Tikki?",

"Come on! We need to get ready!",

"Ok..."

When Marinette had any form of a dream, she would often bury it, deep away. Whether it was a good dream or a bad one, Marinette didn't want either. She often hated sleeping for that one reason, but sometimes she couldn't help it, the exhaustion would get to her.

_Damn... it's been nearly 7 years since I had one of __**those**__ dreams._

"Tikki, what time is it?",

"It's currently 6:53, I'm just waking you up a little earlier so you could get a proper breakfast",

"I'm not hungry...",

"Aww, come on Marinette, you didn't even eat when you came home yesterday!",

"I wasn't hungry...",

"Marinette, starving yourself is not going to help you in the long run",

"...",

"Marinette, you're won't eat... is it because you don't want to eat your parents' food?",

"... I don't deserve their food...",

"Well unless you want to bring suspicion to yourself again, you're going to have to eat some food",

"Tikki... Do I have to go to school today as well?",

"...What happened?",

"What do you mean",

"What happened yesterday Marinette. The moment you detransformed you go and curl up in your bed, 'sleeping'",

"I was just tired",

"And yet despite the dark circles under your eyes, you got a full 12-hour rest, Marinette... I won't force you to talk about your past, but I do want to know what happened yesterday.",

"I'm going to go get changed",

"Marinette! You can't keep running from this",

"_**Marinette! You can't keep run-",**_

"Tikki. I can deal with my own problems. I'm going to get changed".

Walking off to get changed, Marinette left Tikki alone in her room. Tikki had been through many years and had seen many iterations of Ladybug. She just never thought this one would be so difficult...despite her current Ladybugs "request", Tikki wasn't going to back down, besides, Tikki had other methods that allowed her to gather information. She wasn't going to lose another Ladybug.

* * *

Adrian's morning routine could be summed up in two words. Practical and efficient. This routine was thought up by Nathalie of course, but going through the same motions day in and out would eventually get on their nerves. Wake up, use the toilet, brush teeth, shower, get dressed, go through his itinerary, yada yada yada. His schedule was always filled to the brim, it seemed he would never get a chance to do what he liked. Some days Adrien would dream of the times he was younger. Because his mother wanted him to have a pretty normal childhood, despite his abnormal lifestyle, she often took him to the park, just a simple outing but was so much better than being indoors working or going to events with his father.

"Adrien... I want Camembert...",

"Don't worry Plagg, I've got you covered",

Adrien tossed a piece of cheese in his Kwami's direction, Plagg catching it in gratitude. Since meeting Plagg, Adriens routine mornings had become a bit more chaotic, although the creature was quite lazy, he was also stupidly dramatic, always needing cheese, crying about taking the lazy option. In a way, Adrien was quite thankful, he also had a friend to talk.

"_**I killed him Chat Noir! I. Killed. Him.-",**_

"Plagg...",

"Adrien, are you going to cry about that Marinette girl again",

"I never cried! Wait no- that's not what I was going to talk about",

"...",

"Ok fine! I was going to talk about her... but I never cried",

"That's some hard denial",

"Plagg!",

"Ok, ok",

"I just...",

"Wanted to talk about the whole 'I killed hawkmoth' thing",

"It's just... she was in so much anguish... then she just dropped the whole it like hot potatoes and buried her emotions",

"If I wasn't so tired, I would've felt bad for Tikki, dealing with such a tough Ladybug",

"You're acting like there's more than one",

"Well, there was, just like there were multiple Chat Noirs. You're just the latest iteration",

"...",

"what?",

"Nothing..! It's just, I've never heard you speak so seriously before.",

"I don't like to talk about my previous Chat Noirs...",

"whys that...",

"...",

"...",

"Adrien... I want more Camembert...",

"Back to normal, I see",

Adrien noticed, whenever Plagg wanted to drop a subject, he'd cry for cheese. He didn't know what made him so weary about the subject but he complied silently and just gave him his cheese. Plagg rarely talked about his past, and when he did, there was... something there, hidden in his goofy mannerisms. It seemed whenever someone close to Adrien is hurting, they never let it show.

Hearing a knock at the door, it signaled his time was up and he was to head downstairs for breakfast. When he was finished packing up his school books for the day, he walked down to the dining room, where he'd receive his schedule for the day. Since today was a Wednesday, Adrien should be able to go to training today... training... he wondered if Marinette was ok... when he left, she looked so... exhausted... like she was fighting something within her.

_She's was definitely trying to hide who hawkmoth was. If hawkmoth is who I think he is..._

Shaking the thought out of his head, he looked at his schedule. It seemed his Chinese tutor was sick today so he was to complete the work set by him and finish it before Friday. Since Adrien was pretty fast at doing his work, this meant that he could get a bit more free time today! He silently thanked Nathalie and hurried to finish his breakfast. Once done, his plates taken away, he started heading to the car.

"Adrien.",

Turning to the voice, he found his father standing at the top of the stairs.

"Adrien, this Friday we will be heading London for the weekend, an old friend of mine wanted to use you for a shooting so please prepare yourself",

"Does this mean I won't be able to attend school that day",

"I'm afraid not. Nathalie a word if you will",

"Yes, Sir.",

Letting his bodyguard take him to the car, Adrien took a look back to his father, but he was already gone. It should've been a given that Adrien wasn't going to live normally, but it still hurt knowing his father only talked to him for work rather than personal affairs. Hearing a grunt from the gorilla, he climbed into the car.

_Just when my day was going off to a great start, it just had to be ruined by father... I shouldn't be upset... at least I'm still going to school today, that's good enough, I guess..._

* * *

Marinette really didn't want to deal with people today... on days where she'd feel like this, she would often go out drinking her problems away. It was easier than being awake and sober. When she first turned 18, she was legally allowed to drink, since she was nearing the end of her fight with hawkmoth she never took the chance but after the fight, she began having nightmares. It plagued her, in her dreams and eventually even when she was awake. To combat her nightmares she started drinking. It only started as something formal, after a while she found if she drank enough she would black out, it felt like a much easier solution at the time and with the death of her loved ones, she had no reason to stop.

Now at age 14, she couldn't dare attempt to go to a shop and buy herself a drink. Sighing she did her best to shake out any bad thoughts. If hawkmoth got to her... if he Akumatises her again, she didn't know if she could get out of it as easily as before.

_I should find a quiet place to meditate, it's better than getting all gloomy_

When Marinette turned 22, she found a strange person in a nightclub, sitting on its roof. She claimed she was "meditating", although it looked as though she was pretty high. Since then, it piqued her interests, instead of getting head splitting headaches from drinking excessively, she was able to learn to channel her negative emotions away from her. It was better than drinking her days into a blur.

Entering the classroom, she felt relieved when she noticed Adrien didn't come in yet. Since she was early, there wasn't anyone in the class, most of them were outside with their friends.

Crossing her legs, she sat up, back straight, hands on her lap and began to focus on driving out her emotions. Not even 5 minutes had passed and she felt her concentration break. Adrien opened the door to the classroom quietly... well not as quiet as he thought he was.

"Marinette...",

She turned away, she didn't want to see Adrien, but it seemed she had no choice.

"Adrien.",

"Marinette is it alright if we tal-",

"No.",

"Come on Marinette, you were in a difficult situation, I can understand th-",

"Adrien. I'm going to tell this for your own good. You don't want to know what happened, it's just curiosity for you, but for me it wa-",

Not waiting for Marinette to finish her sentence, he walked up to her, grabbing both her hands and looked into her eyes.

"Marinette. I wouldn't treat something this serious so lightly! I don't want you suffering in silence.",

"...you should let go",

"Marinette...",

"I've lived over 10 years in solitude! What makes you think you could ever help me",

"I don't.",

"Then why are yo-",

"I don't think I could ever help you deal with what you went through, but I want to at least try. You say I'll see you as a monster, but I don't think so. You've gone through so much, you gave up so much, just to help Paris and it's people. How could I see someone so brave as a monster",

"You! You will, if you knew who Hawkmoth was, you'd despise me!",

Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Marinette tried to run from the situation only to be stopped by Adriens grip.

"Let go of me...",

"Tell me...",

"what...?",

"Tell me who Hawkmoth is then. If you think I'll hate you for stopping a man who had killed people you care about, then tell me",

"I-I won't- I won't tell you!",

"Marinette... please...",

"..."

"Please..."

"Adrien... he... he's your...D-Dad...",

"..."

"..."

"Hmmm, I figured as much",

"Wha-what?!",

"Honestly, when you first tried telling me who Hawkmoth is, you were about to say that it was someone I knew. I didn't know a lot of people so that helped narrow it down. When you said, I might see you as a monster, I realised it may have been my father, I had nothing to prove it other than the fact he started acting really suspicious after Hawkmoth let one of his Akuma loose",

"H-Huh?!",

"Short answer, I don't hate you",

"But... I killed your father",

"Yeah... I'm not going to act like a saint and say it didn't affect me, but, you were alone, from what you said, Father had hurt a lot of people. I don't want my father in our time to turn out like that",

"...I still don't understand",

"Yeah... I can get that. when I first thought about it, I couldn't imagine Father going so far as to kill, I felt just as confused, it made me feel angry. I didn't want to believe it, but looking at you, conflicted and struggling, it just proved that my father went too far",

"Adrien...",

"Marinette. I don't want him to turn out that way, I also don't want you to go through that kind of experience again",

Marinette really couldn't hold back her emotions, he was always so gentle, always understanding... really what did she do to deserve him... but she didn't want to start crying. She would be at risk... that and she didn't want to let Adrien see her so weak. She backed away slowly, sat on her seat, closing her eyes, she was able to maintain her emotions.

"Adrien. Thank you.",

"Rather than a thank you, a kiss on the cheek would be nice",

Okay, scratch that.

"Wha?! I-I... wha... tha- hard... that's k-kinda hard t-",

"Hahahahaha! I was just teasing Marinette",

"...agghhhh, Wtf! You actually got me thinkin-",

"Thinking what my lady?",

"...hmghhh, nothing.",

"hahaha, still pissed",

"Hmmghhgh",

Adrien went back to his seat, still chuckling from his last interaction. Marinette could feel her face was hot. This cat, was he always this flirty?! Wanting to get back at him, Marinette stood from her seat, walked over to Adrien and left a peck on his cheek.

"M-Marinette?!",

"T-There, now we're even",

With her heart feeling much lighter, Marinette went back to her seat. She noticed Adriens ears were red. Heh, she's got the upper hand now. Before Adrien could launch his retaliation, students started popping in the class. Their little competition would have to wait.

* * *

Hearing the lunch bell, students began to run out of the class. Lunch often was more chaotic than break. Before Marinette could leave the class, she was stopped by Chloe.

"H-Hey Marinette... do you wan- you know what never mind! I just forgot I need my bag",

"But Chloe, I have it right here",

"Oh. Thanks. Sabrina.",

"Hehe, no problem!",

Marinette felt a smile rise on her face.

"Er Chloe, you know Alya, Nino Adrien and I are about to head to the plaza to have lunch, you wanna join us? Of course, Sabrina is free to join as well",

"...I... S-Sure. Why not, can't be _that_ bad hanging out with you",

_Tsundere._

Getting the group together, they all started to eat lunch. Chloe, feeling fidgety, decided to keep to herself and Sabrina most of the time despite Marinette and Adriens attempt to include her into the conversation. Eventually, Chloe needed to use the lavatory. They all thought nothing of it until they heard a shriek coming from the bathroom.

"How can you even think of hanging out with that loser Alya",

"***Scoff* **she at least has a better personality than you skanks",

"How dare you! You think you're all that just because your the Mayor's daughter, nobody even likes you!",

"I don't need people to like me, I'm better than you all anyway!",

"of course you'll say that it at least justifies your loner life",

"Wha! Yo-",

"Do you think you'd actually become friends with that useless lot, the only person of mention is Adrien Agreste!",

"Adrien isn't the only one there you know!",

"Oh how can I forget that failed DJ, and ugh don't even get me started on that slut Mari-whatever",

"You're such a-",

"Girls! What's going on here",

"Ms bustier!?",

"Ms bustier, Chloe was saying rude things about my family",

"What?! I never said an-",

"Enough! Hilla, Chloe, I hope you understand there is a no tolerance policy for fighting, both of you go see Mr. Damocles.",

"But that's not fair! It's obvious Chloe's going to win!",

"Hilla! Both of you head to the principal's office. _Now._",

Complying with the teacher both of them headed to the principal's office. Marinette stood with a half a smile fighting to appear on her face, she felt proud of Chloe, she was finally coming around.

"That's just not fair.",

"Alya?",

"Marinette... she was defending me... and she got in trouble for something like that?!",

Nino chimed in

"I know right! Adrien, we need to help her out dude!",

"Er..."

"Guys, you need to calm down, you might make things worse for Chloe",

"Marinette?",

"let's put a little trust in Chloe, we all know what really happened, and besides, Chloe's gotten into much worse predicaments",

It was true. Marinette couldn't be far from the truth but Alya couldn't stand for it.

"Marinette... I'm going to talk to Mr. Damocles, you guys don't need to come, but I want to give my side of the story.",

"Alya, of course we're coming dude!",

Adrien felt a little uneasiness.

"Guys maybe we should listen to Marinette, we don't want to make the situation worse",

"Worse? Dude. This is Chloe we're talking about",

Hearing everyone argue Sabrina felt herself stuck standing solid, almost scared to talk, Sabrina felt something bubble in her. Chloe, she's been nicer these days, she'd talk to her not like some kind of follower, but as a friend. In front of Sabrina were people who were willing to let them join in, despite all the mean things they'd said to them, and now they're even thinking of ways of trying to help Chloe.

"I... I don't want to leave Chloe.",

"Sabrina?",

"You're all right, sometimes she doesn't think when she talks and what comes out is something rude that she didn't mean to say. We might make things worse... but I'm willing to take that chance",

During Marinettes time, Sabrina died soon after Adrien, she tried protecting Chloe. She was of course, the holder of the sheep miraculous. Not the most powerful of the zodiac miraculous but enough to get Chloe out of danger. When Chloe found Sabrina's corpse, she changed... whether it was for better or worse Marinette never found out. When they were left to the last 3 miraculous holders, Chloe took a risky mission, one that didn't pay off. She lost her life attempting revenge on Hawkmoth. Seeing Sabrina already prepared to save Chloe, Marinette couldn't help but feel angry at herself.

"Sabrina, what do you have planned.",

Adrien called in surprise.

"Marinette!?",

Sabrina continued.

"First we tell the principal our side of the story, of course after that Hilla girl had said her argument, it would be easier to point out any flaws in her argument, if we went first, she could spindle something up. From what I heard, she has some pretty powerful connections, almost as powerful as Chloe.",

"Wow.",

"H-Huh?",

"Didn't think you had it in you dude!",

"I... er... thank you...?",

"Well I can't think of anything better, let's go with Sabrina's plan",

Feeling excited, they all stomped to the principal's office, once they were all distracted, Adrien pulled Marinette to the side,

"(Marinette, are you sure you want to go about it like this, I've heard about Hilla, her family has ties to almost every major company)",

"(Kitty, don't worry too much about it, our next Akuma attack shouldn't happen until next Tuesday, we'll be fine)",

"(***Sigh* **if you say so my lady.)",

* * *

Chloe sat just outside the office, it seemed the Principals was still doing some work. Normally she'd burst in, demanding that she not get in trouble, flaunting her power. Normally she would also never dare to hang out with Marinette... Normally... She wasn't acting so normal was she...

"(My queen...?)",

"(Pollen, it's best not to talk right now, that Hilla bitch is two chairs away from me)",

"(Aren't you going to call your father)",

"(...I don't think so Pollen, I heard today my dad's trying to deal with the Akuma situation)",

"(It's great that you're thinking about your father first, Ladybug would be proud!)"

_P-Proud..._

Chloe felt something swell in her chest... Proud. She could feel a smile appear on her face. Heheheh Proud...

"What are you gawking at!",

Snapping out of her stupor, she looked to her left. Of course, Hilla would be the one to ruin her mood.

"What's it to you, sad you don't have a life so you disturb mine",

"Oh-ho that's it! I'm going to call my father, you think you're the only one in this school who has a powerful figure backing them",

"Wow. Having to call your _daddy _to get you out of a little detention. Pussy much",

"That's like the pot calling the kettle black!",

"Whatever, I bet I could beat you without my father's help",

"Oh, you wanna bet huh, well no dice",

"Hmmm",

"I'm not an idiot, do you really think I'm going to go in there and let you step all over me!",

"You'd like that wouldn't you, skank",

"Wow. You wanna go bitc-",

"Girls!",

"**Mr. Damocles!",**

"Office now.",

Mr. Damocles hated dealing with these students, a lot of students in this school came from powerful backgrounds as well. Chloe was especially worse. She was the daughter of the Mayor, the one funding this school and everyone's salary, with one word he could have it stopped, so Mr. Damocles didn't try to get in her way. And then there's Hilla. Her father was a dangerous man. Someone who could destroy not only his school but maybe even his family. She was put in a different class away from Chloe so they wouldn't ever interact with each other, if they got in a fight or teamed up, Mr. Damocles would never survive. Yet here they are, screaming like sirens at each other. Of course, he couldn't get any peace of mind.

"So I heard you two were fighting",

"Mr. Damocles, I was defending my f-friend...",

"Ugh like you have any, Mr. Damocles, she insulted my family, she called me a whore and then threatened to end me!",

"Watch your mouth. You might turn it rotten with all those lies",

"ENOUGH. Chloe, this sort of behaviour, isn't-",

"Wait! Chloe didn't do anything wrong",

_Oh, who was it now..._

"Alya... you shouldn't be here, I can deal with the situation",

"Yeah I'm sure you can, but I'm not going to leave a friend hanging",

"F-Friend...",

"Ugh, what is this sappy bullshit. Mr. Damocles, Chloe and her group tried to harass me!",

"Harassment, that doesn't sound like Mrs. Bustier student,

"that's because it's not.",

"Sabrina as well... wait who else is hiding behind your back Miss Alya",

Stepping aside, Marinette, Adrien, and Nino all entered the office.

"What the actual fuck. You got Adrien Agreste on your side as well, you're so pathetic!",

"Miss Hilla, could I ask you to refrain from using such sour language in my office",

"I can't believe you're making me out to be the bad guy, when my father hears about this-",

"N-Now now, let's not use drastic measures for small situations like this",

"Small?! My life was threatened and now they're harassing me! Of course, I'm going to get my father involved!",

"Hilla you're going way too far-",

"And you don't, what, you get to call for your father but the moment I ask for mine you start acting all moral",

"Hey! At least she knows when enough's enough, Chloe may have been a brat in the past, but at least she's not some lying snake that gossips behind people's back",

"Wow, you got that loser Alya to defend you, how much did you pay her, hey you, I'll pay you double to leave this room",

"Double zero is still zero, she didn't pay me.",

"Heh likely story.",

"THAT IS IT, IM DONE. BOTH YOU GIRLS OUT THE ROOM, I'LL BE CALLING BOTH YOUR FATHERS AND EXPLAINING THE SITUATION",

"If you think you're going to leave school today scratch free, you've got another thing coming Chloe Bourgeois.",

Scampering out the room, Hilla pushed past Marinette, unable to topple her she opted to just kicking her shin. When Marinette didn't double down in pain, she stormed out the room.

"Children I suggest you leave the room, I have a lot to sort out today",

Forcing everyone to get out of the office, Mr. Damocles sat back down on his desk, his head throbbed.

_Why couldn't I get normal students attending my school..._

* * *

Hilla felt her head swell, of course Chloe Bourgeois would get the upper hand, of course she wouldn't get in trouble. Hilla sat down on a bench, her hand clenched in a ball. What could she even do against that spoiled brat. Gripping her purse, she pulled out her phone, scrolling down to her father's number. One tap was all she needed to bring down this school. But it wouldn't guarantee Chloe getting the short end of the stick. She could ruin this school but could she ruin her. If only she could screw her over. If only she had the power to make Chloe Bourgeois fall down on her knees. But Hilla didn't have that kind of power. She was lower in status, lower in power, lower in money, and now, it seems she was also lower in popularity.

As Hilla lamented her powerlessness, she spotted a black butterfly float over to her phone, Hilla wasn't too fond of bugs but she didn't mind butterflies, they were at least pretty to look at, but for some reason, this butterfly seemed to glow with darkness? It was a strange creature. Trying to observe the butterfly, she found it molded into her phone. As the phone turned black, Hilla could feel something within her change, like her very core was stretching out, soon after she heard a voice in her head...

**Hello Madame Control, I am Hawkmoth, I can give you the power to control anyone your heart desires, all I ask in return are Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous.**

"Alright, as long as I get to put that spoiled brat down to size, I can get you what you need.",

Hilla felt something within her core change as her body formed. Black mist covered her body, her skin changed to purple, her phone morphed into her wrist and became something similar to a watch, her clothes warped around her, turning into a ball gown dress. Standing up, she noticed several students back away in fear. They could be her first victims.

* * *

Marinette felt uneasy. Chloe seemed to be quite happy, she was definitely coming around but she could help shake this feeling like there was something amiss. She had never met this Hilla person in her last life, in fact, Chloe and Hilla never even met, let alone fight in her time. Something was definitely wrong.

"(Marinette, everything alright)",

"(Adrien, I think something might be wrong, Chloe and Hilla never fought in my time, I don't think they even met each other)",

"(Oh... but maybe things will be fine! As you said, we shouldn't get an Akuma for at least a week now)",

"(Yeah... that's what I thought but...)",

"(No buts! Trust in yourself. I'm sure we should be fine, Chloe's definitely's gotten nicer!)",

"(Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't think too much of I-",

A scream emanated from the central area, running to see where the source was, Marinette spotted a woman resembling Hilla.

"Oh no... Adrien... I was wrong. Hilla she-",

"We should go "hide" somewhere",

Following Adriens advice, they both attempted to run to a nearby empty room only to be stopped by Alya.

"Marinette, you and the others should hide in this Classroom, I'm, er, going to get my, er, stuff from... my locker",

"What what?! Dude, Now is not the time for stuff, you guys hide in the classroom, I'm going to see if I can-",

"What now you're going to get something!? I at least have a valid reason, you all should- wait where's Chloe!?",

"She must've already gone to hide, see dude, take some responsibility and get away!",

"I am taking responsibility, take Marinette and Adrien- wait where did they go?!",

"obviously to hide!",

"I'm not going to let you get in danger because you want some stuff",

"I could say the same thing!",

"Aghhh screw this, I'm going into this closet, don't follow me, I want my hiding spot to be safe",

"What! You think I'm going to let you get hurt just so you can hide alone?!",

"Nino! Just let go! I need to-",

"I don't care about needing your stuff, I'm not letting you get in trouble-",

"You don't understand, I... fine. Let's go inside together, you'll understand then...",

"What!? I can't do that, dude, I have to go-",

"Get your stuff?",

"...",

"Nino.",

"Alya. Are you also a-",

"Miraculous holder",

"So you are...",

"Yeah...",

"We'll talk more later, for now, let's go somewhere hidden to transform",

"Alright.",

The two ran into the closet, making sure there were no prying eyes, they called out for their Kwami's

"Wayzz, Shell on!",

"Trixx, let's pounce!",

Once the two were transformed the ran out of the closet to start dealing with the Akuma. When they Arrived they noticed Ladybug, Chat Noir and Queen Bee hiding on the roof, watching the Akuma.

"Hey, Glad you could make it",

"Ladybug. After the fight, Carapace and I... we-",

"Don't worry, for now, let's deal with the Akuma. Queen Bee, you were here first, what have you noticed",

"It looks like the victim is Hilla Civec. She had a fight with, er, Chloe Bourge-something, I think she wants to do something to her. Her power seems to be controlling the students... I think",

"Nice job Queen Bee. Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, can I trust you two to distract her",

"Yeah, you can count on us my lady",

"Good. Rena Rouge, don't use your power just yet, ok?",

"No worries Ladybug",

"Carapace, I need you to make sure there are no lingering students, don't engage with the controlled victims just yet",

"Yeah dude, I got it covered",

"Queen Bee, you and I are going to try and find the Akuma, I may need your Venom sting",

"Don't worry Ladybug! I won't let you down!",

"Ladybug struggled to keep her face neutral. It was starting to feel like the good old day. She had her team back and she wasn't going to let Hawkmoth hurt them again. Since both Queen Bee and Marinette had swinging type weapons they could effectively survey where the Akuma could be hiding. Both Chat Noir and Rena Rouge had staff weapons. They could both combat at close range and keep the Akumatised victim away from civilians. Carapace had his shield so he could protect and direct any stragglers away from the Akuma. For Ladybug, this was the most efficient method of taking down an Akuma as fast as possible, keeping casualties and damages to a minimum.

"Where is Chloe Bourgeois! I'll crush her!",

With Chloe out of sight... sort of, the Akumatised victim started to get testy.

"**Madame Control, you need to find a place to escape, there are more superheroes than expected"**

"No! I will find that girl and ruin her!",

"**Damn you, if you get defeated how will you crush Chloe Bourgeois!",**

"..."

"**Get out of there. I will think of something.",**

"I can defeat them. I just need to control them.",

"**If you can defeat them, I will give you those powers permanently but my priority is Ladybug and Chat Noirs Miraculous, once you have completed the task I will hand you Chloe Bourgeois on a silver platter",**

"Alright. Ladybug and Chat Noirs Miraculous will be yours",

"Uh, you ok miss control",

"It's Madame Control!",

"Yeah ok. Can you move more into the middle, you keep breaking stuff",

"You're first, Cat.",

"Uh oh. Rena Rouge! Help!",

"Come on Chat Noir, how are you going to get Ladybug to like you if you act so wimpy",

"Wha- how do you know that?!",

"Chat Noir. It's obvious. So stupidly obvious",

"Heh, you're starting to sound like Queen Bee, is she rubbing off on you",

"Chat Noir, she about to slap you.",

"Wuh uh oh!",

Doing his best to dodge her slaps, Chat Noir Jumped on the roof. While the chaos continued, Ladybug noticed something on Madame Control's wrist. It resembled a smartwatch.

"Queen Bee! Use your Venom sting!",

Complying, Queen Bee did just that. She called out her power then poked Madame. Running over to the victim before she could start moving again, Ladybug ripped off the watch and threw it towards Chat Noir

"Chaton, quick! Use your Cataclysm!",

Catching the Item, Chat Noir called up his cataclysm and broke the item. A small black butterfly floated out. Ladybug pulled out her yoyo, opening it up, she threw it out and caught the creature. Once she confirmed it was purified, she let it out.

"Bye bye little butterfly",

Realising she didn't summon her lucky charm this battle, she called out for it to clean up any problems caused by the akuma. When the lucky charm fell into her hands, she noticed it was in the shape of the peacock miraculous... she still had to deal with that. Not wanting to think too much about it, she threw it in the air and called out her signature phrase.

"Miraculous Ladybug!",

Once the ladybugs had done their job, she called her team for rendezvous.

"Nice we did it my lady!",

"I feel like I didn't do anything though",

"That's not true, you helped get the kids to safety",

"That's easy for you to say, you and Chat Noir were at least going toe to toe with that akuma.",

"Well I mean... you helped a lot!",

"Sure dude.",

"Well we defeated the akuma, that's more than enough, right Ladybug",

"While you're right about the Akuma Queen bee, we still have a bigger issue to face",

"Hawkmoth?",

"Yeah...",

"My lady, if I could. You mentioned to me at Masters place, you had a plan",

"Wait master?! Dude! I wanna meet this guy!",

"Chaton!",

"Well, they're going to meet him someday right!",

"Yeah, but when the time is right and they can handle the truth!",

"uh not to interrupt this couple spat but, what's this about a master",

"Don't worry Rena Rouge, when you guys are ready, we'll tell you everything",

"...",

"So about the pla-",

***Beep* *Beep* *Beep***

"Sorry kitty, looks like this conversation will have to wait. We won't have training today, so everyone get ready at 5 tomorrow, I have a new location planned, one that's closer to the city.",

"A new location, is it sanitary?",

"Probably.",

"Wait probably!? Ladybug, I don't want to get a strange infection!",

"and you won't! I'll see you guys tommorow!",

"Wait Ladybug!",

"Sorry, Queen Bee, I'm off as well",

"Seeya dudes!",

"(Don't worry Chloe, trust in Ladybug), Bye!",

"Ugh... this is utterly ridiculous...",

* * *

"**So they have 5 superheroes now. No matter. I won't let them ruin my plans. Just wait, I **_**will **_**have your miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir!"**

Gabriel Agreste had his reasons for becoming Hawkmoth. One of which was the love of his life. It may sound cliche but she was the one to thaw his frozen heart, when she fell into her stasis, Gabriel felt his light die out. He attempted every treatment possible but she still wouldn't wake up. It finally came down to him using the miraculous, he needed to bring his wife back, no matter the cost. Nathalie, of course, knew from the beginning what he was planning to do, she never backed down, she stayed by his side despite the danger and risk it would pose to her. Really, he couldn't have asked for a better secretary.

Gabriel felt his head ache, he lost again, this time there were five of them. Five against one. How cruel. Yet because of the loss, he could prove how much danger the school could go through. He could manipulate the mayor into putting more security at the school, Adrien could be safe and Gabriel wouldn't need to meddle in his sons life. He already knew how much Adrien despised working so hard, but Gabriel needed him to be strong the world was tough after all.

Sighing, he called Nathalie to arrange a meeting with the mayor. He needed to strike while the iron was hot.

* * *

Marinette silently thanked that the fight today ended as fast as it did. When she arrived home, her parents, being her parents, bombarded her with questions, asking if she was alright, yada yada yada. Once done dealing with them, she rushed straight to bed. Was every day going to be as tough as the past two days. She felt so mentally exhausted. It turns out Nino and Alya had found out each others identity, so that brought out a whole can of worms. They seemed both confused and started asking who her identity was or who the others were. Marinette obviously, forced them to keep it a secret, she made up an excuse about how, keeping our identity a secret was important to the plan she was making, but really, she didn't want to deal with the drama that came when they find out each others identity. Last time it happened, Alya and Chloe just would not talk nor look at each other in the eye. It was so annoying and hectic! Hawkmoth was on the loose and these two would just not cooperate!

Laying her head down on the pillow, Marinette felt exhaustion over take her, she was pretty glad there was no training today. Even Tikki kept her distance. Actually, she'd been surprisingly quiet the whole day. She didn't bug Marinette nor try to pry anything out of her. She was just hiding in the purse doing nothing. Did her conversation with Adrien... scare her...?

Shaking out the thought, Marinette closed her eyes. She could deal with this stuff tomorrow. For now, she just wanted to sleep.


End file.
